Houston Rockets: Dwight Howard and James Harden's Support For Omer Asik is Foolish

By Ryan Heckman

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The other day, it was reported that Houston Rockets stars James Harden and Dwight Howard have publicly stated their support for both point guard Jeremy Lin and center Omer Asik to stay on the team, rather than be traded. Of course, Asik’s name has come up in many trade scenarios now that Howard is in Houston and I personally believe he deserves to be moved.

In fact, Asik has formally requested a trade and still the Rockets don’t want to send him away.

So, you’re teling me the team wants to finish paying out his three-year, $26 million deal when he’s coming off the bench? This makes zero sense for the team looking to add more talent to the roster and having Asik simply sit on the bench.

The fact that Harden and Howard both want Asik on the roster is utter foolishness. Sure, he’d be a great guy coming off the bench. But, there are plenty of teams looking for a solid big man to fill a need and could possibly offer a nice piece in return.

Wouldn’t Howard want another starting-calibur player on the roster instead of Asik coming off the bench? After all, the guy asked for another star to be signed after coming onto the team a week and a half ago.

To me, Harden and Howard are just trying to say the right thing in the public eye. If they were being honest with themselves, they’d love to see what the team could get in return for a young center like Asik. The roster could be bolstered in a completely different way by packaging both him and Lin for maybe a guy like Rajon Rondo, among other possible scenarios.

Asik is a very talented guy and deserves to start in this league where true centers are hard to come by. Howard and Harden would do the club good by revoking their sentiments and showing interest in the possible trade scenarios to further build their team up.